


Legends

by Fabrisse



Category: Kingsman: The Secret Service (2015)
Genre: Arthurian legend - Freeform, Immortal Merlin, Multi, Threesome - M/M/M, Voyeurism, round table
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-03
Updated: 2015-05-03
Packaged: 2018-03-28 19:12:24
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3866524
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fabrisse/pseuds/Fabrisse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is the once and future king.  He's appeared in many guises through the ages, but Merlin has always been Merlin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Legends

**Author's Note:**

> **This is not part of Rebuilding the Table** (aka Fabi got lost in Dressing Room 3 again)
> 
> The Prompt:  
> Merlin is actually a wizard.  
> Galahad is actually Galahad, and after Arthur's death, replaces him on the throne.  
> Eggsy is a commoner/servant who finds out that his king and the king's wizard are very, very, very close. (Voyeur Eggsy)  
> Eggy being unable to stop thinking about it, and Merlin inviting him to join in.
> 
> I want them to be a big happy OT3 with magic and shiny armor and everyone loves each other.
> 
>  
> 
> I followed the prompt, but it came out less porny and more seriously than intended. I'm not sure I got the shiny armor, or even the happy. But this is a newly formed OT3 who love each other.

Valentine thought he was legendary, that he would save the earth. He tried to consolidate artistry, science, and politics -- kidnapping when he couldn't convince the people he needed. But he also went after royalty, because he thought he understood legends. 

To be fair, Tilde and her family were part of the legend of Sweden, descendants of one of Napoleon's generals brought in when the last of the Vasas proved to be insane. It was the legend of Sweden as a progressive state, a neutral state, a decisive state. Most modern royalty really link to their country's true legends, the deep well of the nation's identity which, for good or ill, shaped the land, its people, and its relationship to the world.

France's legend relies on two conflicting heritages: the delight of wit and pure reason creating a dichotomy with the sensuality of food, clothing, and wine.

Germany's legends tend toward darkness if they're not thoroughly examined, but there are still Rheinmadchen if a person knows where to look.

The Swiss are the personification of neutrality in spite of a standing army which consists of every male between the ages of sixteen and sixty. And the Greeks live simply as the philosophers each and every one of them is.

But Britain's legend is complicated. People forget there are three countries on the island and several other languages and cultures if one counts the Channel Islands. So its legend has to pull from all of them. Like Germany, there is a mysticism surrounding greenery and nature -- a tamer nature shaped by Capability Brown in England, the wild heather covered hills in Scotland, the collieries and the mountains -- and a few sheep -- in Wales. Like France, intelligence is considered important. But unlike France, Britain revels in its eccentricities so its intelligence is personified by the boffin rather than the witty mistress.

Most of all though, Britain's legend is of Arthur and his knights. Sometimes they go down-market and legends spring up around Robin Hood and his men. Sometimes they become so otherworldly that the Fae intertwine with human populations. Sometimes they become powerful barons who create a document which defines the rights of men.

But the core -- the core is steadfast. A High King unites Britain. He uses magic, most of it natural, through his court wizard, Merlin. He uses the other kings and the great gentry by making them the Knights of the Round Table. There's Gawain, defender of women, who also dallies with them and delights them. Lancelot, the bravest of the knights who becomes the Queen's lover, is a French addition, but he's as necessary to the legend as Merlin is. Galahad and Percival, who, some say are the same person, are the pure ones. They both seek the Grail. They both find it, but Percival loses his chance at it through inarticulate courtesy. Galahad wins through and, some say, goes directly to heaven. Each of the other knights has his own legend, usually dealing with his region of origin. Lancelot's certainly not the only foreigner at the table. Palamedes was a Saracen; Scotland contributed a whole family of knights -- including Gawain and Gareth; Wales had the Mabinogion which cemented the mysticism of the table.

Each period gets its own iteration of the round table. Sometimes, it's impossible to know until afterward who was part of the legend. Winston Churchill was Arthur returned to save Britain, to many people. Different people were put forward as his Merlin or his knights. They were all wrong. Churchill was head of the Kingsman with the code name of Arthur, but his knights all worked for a tailor's shop. There was one boffin he was seen with fairly often, a man by the name of Stewart Menzies who coordinated code breaking and spy craft, and who was really -- not just codenamed -- Merlin.

***  
He'd wondered why there was no Mordred in this generation of Kingsman. Then Chester King betrayed everything the table stood for, and Merlin realized that he'd been his own Mordred. The next Arthur was supposed to be Harry Hart. He'd known this candidate would be Galahad the moment he saw the name since Henry means "ruler" and Arthur seeing the white hart had prompted the search for the Grail. 

When the terrible carnage in the church began, Merlin had barely had time to draw power and cast a spell to protect Galahad. He'd put just enough glamour on the scene that everyone assumed he was dead after Valentine's shot and so didn't check. Every suit made by Kingsman was bullet proof, though most of their regular customers didn't realize it, but the suits worn by the knights had protective spells reinforced with every hand-stitched thread. He couldn't give them helmets, but the glasses had their own magic. Harry Hart was alive; he knew it. But when Eggsy came to him, full of trust, and told him about Valentine's plan, getting Harry out of Kentucky had to be put on the back burner.

His new Lancelot was truly brave, and she brought her own legends with her in the name Roxanne. He should have known Eggsy would be important, and possibly the one who would take Arthur's seat after Harry. Unwin meant the bear cub; Arthur meant the bear.

Valentine was defeated. Most of the knights had been faithful to the table and not to their erstwhile Arthur. Harry assumed the responsibilities and codename of Arthur. Eggsy was going to take the name of Bertilak -- after all, he wasn't highborn or noble, and it amused Percival.

As Eggsy had said, "For a minute there I thought someone was going to insist on my being Cavall."

"Arthur's dog?" Harry asked.

"Well, I ain't exactly knightly material. Coulda been Excalibur. Maybe Ron."

"Ron?" said Harry.

"Arthur's spear or lance," Merlin said.

"Figured it would piss off some of the nobbier knights."

Merlin smiled. "You almost make me regret giving you a human codename. But only almost."

***  
The whole table fell into a routine. Arthur hated not being able to go out into the field as much. Bertilak and Lancelot stayed in Britain, helping to keep the ideals they represented fresh. Merlin felt like a new strand was at last being woven into the tapestry.

The four of them often ate together to make plans. In spite of the age differences and differences of circumstance, there were levels of friendship deepening among them.

Which is why, he shouldn't have been at all surprised that Eggsy would take the words "Come in" for granted. In his defense, he had learned to knock, but waiting for the answer was problematic.

He walked in on Merlin kneeling between Arthur's legs, sucking him slowly, with all the patience an immortal had time to learn. 

"Oh." Eggsy's voice filled the office with one syllable.

"Close the door," Harry said, resting his hand protectively on the back of Merlin's head. "I don't particularly care which side of it you're on."

Eggsy's eyes widened and he closed the door softly, remaining in the room with them. He stood stock still, watching the two men, Merlin's head moving and Harry's body responding. He heard the whisper of, "So close, Merlin," and saw the minute answering nod. Harry's eyes caught his for a moment before they closed in ecstasy.

They rested together a few moments, Merlin's head against Harry's thigh until Harry bent down to kiss him. 

Merlin rose, pressing Harry back in his passion. When the kiss broke, Merlin turned toward Eggsy and said, "Whatever are we going to do with you?"

Eggsy swallowed. "I'd vote for letting me stay alive."

Harry burst into laughter as he straightened himself and became a proper gentleman once more. "No need to worry about that." He glanced at Merlin and said, "You don't usually leave the door unlocked."

Merlin's lips twitched and he finally tore his eyes from Harry's and looked at Eggsy. "Let's say, I was aware of young Bertilak's tendencies and hoped he would learn something."

Eggsy said, "To wait for an answer?"

Harry smiled. "That's certainly one lesson you should take to heart."

"That you belong to Merlin?"

Merlin came closer to him and stroked his shoulder in the same way he'd gentle a spooked horse. "People belong to themselves. I love Arthur -- Harry Hart -- and I like to show him that. I've seen how you look at him. You love him, too."

Eggsy started to deny it, but between Merlin's hand grounding him and Harry's eyes watching him, he found he couldn't lie. "Yes. I didn't know you had anything going on. I'd never…" His words were stopped by Merlin's mouth on his gentle and tender. He could taste Harry on Merlin's tongue and then on his own. He moaned.

When the kiss broke, Merlin focused on him and Eggsy reached up to stroke his face. "Have you ever noticed how I look at you?" Eggsy asked.

Harry said, quietly, "I have. There's so much love in you."

Merlin glanced between them. His eyes met Eggsy's. "What do you want?"

"Right now? To get on my knees for you."

Merlin grinned. "I was thinking longer term."

"Whatever you'll share."

Merlin pulled him close for a moment, then turned him into Harry's waiting embrace. 

Harry kissed him until Eggsy whimpered and said, "You don't have to take the crumbs from our table. We're offering you…us."

Eggsy said, "I have a question. It's stupid, but, ever since you came back, I've wondered. Are we real? I mean, are we really the Knights of the Round Table?"

"Let's go to headquarters. I'll let them know there will be a third for dinner in the breakfast room tonight." Merlin was all business with his clipboard.

Eggsy said, "About that offer I made earlier…"

"Oh, no, I want to take my time," Merlin said.

Harry rolled his eyes. "We promise an answer to your question. Will you answer ours?"

"Fuck me, Harry, yes. The two of you? Just getting to watch you together was a privilege. And very beautiful."

"No, Eggsy, if we do this, it's not a privilege. You're our equal. Subordinate to me in the office, just as Merlin is."

"Believe that if you like, Harry," Merlin said sotto voce.

"But never lesser in the bedroom," Harry finished.

Eggsy took hold of Harry's tie and used it to tug him closer. "Good. I've never been no one's subordinate in bed."

***  
They'd taken turns kissing him across their laps on the shuttle out to headquarters, and he wobbled a little getting out of the pod. They'd walked straight up the stairs to the breakfast room and one of the servants brought in the first course.

"Why're we eating dinner in the breakfast nook?"

Merlin said, "Because the dining room here can seat thirty and the food gets cold from the wind sweeping through the chimney."

Harry smiled. "This room just gets the morning sun. It's not forbidden to eat other meals here."

"Is it safe t' talk? Like about the question I asked."

Harry indicated to Merlin that it was his story to tell.

Eggsy watched as Merlin closed his eyes and made a couple of movements with his hands.

"Did ya just make us invisible or something?"

"No, but the young woman bringing us our food won't hear anything she shouldn't. The room is warded."

Eggsy blinked twice. "So you're a magician, a wizard? You went to Hogwarts?"

Merlin chuckled. "I'm Merlin. I've always been Merlin. No, I tell a lie. I remember being a Roman soldier, one that disappeared in the wilds of Scotland. I had a son." He was lost in a far distant past. 

Eggsy felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "Harry, did you know this?"

"Not until I was Arthur."

He looked back at Merlin. "You telling me, bruv, that you're a thousand years old?"

"By current reckoning, closer to two thousand," Merlin said. For just a moment, Eggsy felt like he could see every year in his eyes. "I go… away… when I'm not needed, when Britain -- Albion if you'd rather -- needs a protector or protectors, I come back."

"So you're a protector of England?"

"No. I'm the wizard who protects the protector. Arthur is more like a mantle. He settles over someone and the man -- or in rare cases woman -- becomes a symbol, a unifying force, the High King with a greater or lesser Camelot around him or her."

Eggsy said, "And the magic? Who've you been? Where do you go?"

Merlin put his hand over Eggsy's as the girl came in with the main course and cleared away the soup. "Last one first. I spend a great deal of time in caves, mostly asleep or dreaming. Once I was trapped in a tree for a couple of decades. The magic comes from the land itself, the idea of Britain, especially Britain united. Some of my power is weakening with the Scots wanting independence. And the who? I've done what Albion needed of me. I reinforced a poor king in John, so that ultimately, Magna Carta had to be created. I… that was a cruel life. I was at Henry VIII's court and a friend to Shakespeare. The first of those was another cruel life. But Shakespeare… Just for the record, he really did write his own plays. The actors would garble and embellish a bit, it's not just his work. But, ultimately, Shakespeare wrote Shakespeare. Tresham. I was Tresham and sent the letter to Robert Cecil."

Harry saw the puzzlement on Eggsy face and said, "Stopped the Gunpowder Plot."

"I fought with Cromwell's Army and helped Charles II back to the throne. I helped the English defeat the Scots and worked for the East India Company. I was Hardy with Lord Nelson and an advisor to Queen Victoria -- one she didn't listen to, but I was there to give her something to fight against. The late nineteenth century was rather grand. I got drunk with Oscar Wilde once, and he wrote Dorian Gray. I've been with Kingsman since the beginning. No one, other than Arthur, whoever Arthur happens to be, ever seems to notice that Merlin has been the same man since 1921 when the financing was settled and the knights were named."

"But you've told me. Will I not remember it?"

Merlin said, "You'll remember."

Harry said, "Oh."

"Not for a long time, I hope," Merlin said.

Harry smiled. "There's always hope."

"All right, didn't follow that conversation at _all_."

"You were the top candidate in your cohort for logic. Run through it again." Merlin locked eyes with Eggsy.

This time, Eggsy said, "Oh. Not Mordred, please, I'm not…"

"No, Mordred never takes Arthur's mantel. He's a destroyer. You, like Harry, are a uniter."

"But Chester King…"

"Brought the seeds of his own destruction down on his head. You just switched the cups. I wonder though. Galahad -- you were on your way to becoming Galahad at that moment -- and the Grail will kill the unworthy."

"So, I'm a pawn?"

Harry said, "Ultimately, we're all pawns. Unlike most people, we can see the board and know our role in the game. You're at least a knight on this chessboard."

Eggsy let the silence draw out as he thought things through. "Let's look at this chessboard then. You're the king, Arthur. I assumed you were the bishop," he said to Merlin, "But I think that's my role, advising you both on the social realities of this modern Britain. Does that make you the queen? Guinevere as well as Merlin?"

"Queen in power, maybe. But Guinevere, never existed, not like in the legends. Lancelot was a story, not a real knight. Galahad was real, but not Lancelot's son."

"So you're the queen, but 'at's not Guinevere. Roxy's the knight. Percival, too, maybe."

Merlin smiled. "Exactly. Morgana is the other bishop. The other two witches are the rooks. The rest of the knights are pawns on the board." He peered closely at Eggsy. "If you want to forget, I can take this away from you."

"If you did that, I could never be your equal, never cross the threshold, be part of your lives."

"No, you couldn't. You'd forget everything after knocking on the door. Harry and I would still comfort each other, love each other. This life has let me love and that's a miracle I never thought to have." He and Harry locked eyes.

"And we'd know that we missed you," Harry added.

"No, Harry, don't put the burden on him that way. We would miss you, lad. You're very lovable and very beautiful. But that can't be why you decide."

Eggsy said, "All my life, I felt like I could be more. Like I was… called. This is the call I answered, and I fuckin' love bein' a Kingsman, and I fuckin' love both of you. So, I'll live with the knowledge, learn how to use it, and spend my time either saving the world or loving the two of you."

"Dessert could be served upstairs," Harry said.

"Like in 'is bedroom?" Eggsy asked.

Merlin grinned. "Yes, exactly like that."

***  
Eggsy had never felt solemn about sex before. It was fun. It was often rushed because there weren't too many places on his estate that had real privacy for long. He'd fucked or been fucked against alley walls more often than he'd been in a bed. Merlin's bed looked like it was measured in acres.

Harry was kissing him. Merlin was behind, whispering, "Tell us what you want."

"To serve you."

Merlin stilled and then said, "No wonder you're Bertilak."

Eggsy turned around and started kissing Merlin. "You gave me the name."

"No. When Percival made his little objection, I was _given_ the name. The name was always yours, Eggsy."

Harry was divesting him of his clothes and Eggsy said, "If I'm going to be naked, how about on the bed?"

Merlin and Harry shared a glance. "Yes," Merlin said. "Let's get you into bed."

"I'm not going to be the only one naked, am I?"

Harry began to strip Merlin, who walked toward the bed looking both loving and deadly. The combination disturbed Eggsy just a little, but it aroused him a great deal.

After Harry had removed his own clothes, they lay on either side of Eggsy, taking turns drugging him with kisses as their hands wandered in a perfect counterpoint over his body. The strength of Merlin's hands and the gentleness of Harry's created an electric hum through him. He could feel their erections against his hip, knew his own cock was hard from the occasional drip on his stomach. Every time he tried to touch one of them, his hand would be captured and kissed. Merlin would concentrate on the palms and the pads of his fingers. Harry would suck the knuckles and trace his bones with his tongue.

Merlin trailed his lips to Eggsy's ear. "You're going to come untouched. But other than us touching your cock, you can ask for anything."

He broke the deep kiss Harry was giving him, and said, "Stroke my thighs?" The blush across his cheeks demanded Merlin's lips to cool them.

Merlin glanced at Harry who slid down Eggsy's body, using his lips and tongue as well as his hands to acquiesce to Eggsy's request. It didn't take long before he gripped Merlin's arm and mewled into his mouth fighting to stay on the beautiful knife edge for one more second. His orgasm arched him off the bed, and Merlin captured every sound with his mouth. Harry came back up, brushing his lips against Eggsy's neck as Merlin licked his way down his body, following the irregular trails of come down to his softening cock.

"Wanted to do for you," Eggsy said lying between them sated.

"You will, my love," Harry said. "You'll do very nicely."

Merlin got them all under the covers and said, "Sleep now. The world can wait for a few more hours."

**Author's Note:**

> I used to dream of being an Arthurian scholar. Some of that came out in the story.
> 
> I've also been mainlining Mark Strong movies. Some of Merlin's past lives/roles are references to his films.


End file.
